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Brandel Chamblee is one of the most notable anti-LIV Golf personalities out there. He is no fan of the tour, nor is he supportive of players moving to it. Ahead of the Masters in 2024, where LIV and all other golfers will come together to compete, he was once again asked about the tour.
According to Bunkered, he believes LIV players have to have some fear of missing out:
“I promise you those players on LIV miss the attention, miss the buzz, miss the competition."
Jon Rahm is one such golfer who has admitted as much. The Spaniard and defending Masters winner has said he misses playing in the biggest events on the PGA Tour.
He said it has not been easy being unable to defend some of his titles on tour. He won plenty of times, but he had no chance of repeating as the winner. He also mentioned playing at Riviera as something he missed.
Rahm is one of the most candid on this issue, but Brandel Chamblee firmly believes others share that opinion privately.
Brandel Chamblee thinks there's a way for LIV golfers to return
Whether or not any LIV player can or will return is currently unclear with the merger and all the other questions surrounding the state of golf. There have been talks about paving a way back to the PGA Tour.
As far as that goes, Brandel Chamblee remains hopeful. He said (via Bunkered):
“I think there is, I miss their golf. I miss watching Jon Rahm, I miss watching Brooks Koepka. They would have to come back and not play the signature events. They would have to earn their way back into the signature events."
He believes there should be a fine or penalty for them, that they shouldn't immediately be able to play at the highest level again. They should, in his eyes, have earned that level of competition once more, saying:
"You want to come back on the PGA Tour? You’ve got to work your way back and if you finish in this subset then you get into the signature events but you can’t get in them for two years or a year, whatever it is."
He claims these defectors have hurt the PGA Tour. Television ratings are down for a reason in Chamblee's eyes. Money has become a tiresome talking point in the sport. Missing some of the world's best golfers has damaged the PGA Tour, according to Chamblee.
The analyst continued:
“The Tour has spent, I have no doubt if not 50, $100million litigating these cases and trying to defend themselves and coming up with strategies. That’s money that would have gone in the pension fund. That’s hurt the Tour players. There has to be some quid pro quo for them to come back.”
Chamblee notably did not say that they couldn't or shouldn't come back. Despite his vitriol towards LIV, he would like to see the world's top golfers back together again.
